Longtime Bulldogs announcer Munson dies

ATLANTA — Larry Munson, the legendary voice of the Georgia Bulldogs for more than four decades, died Sunday from complications from pneumonia, the university announced. He was 89.

Munson broadcast Bulldogs’ games from 1966 until 1998.

“Larry Munson exemplified the excellence that we believe is the symbol of all the University of Georgia does today,” UGA President Michael F. Adams said in a statement. “He was loved by thousands of alumni and friends, and was completely devoted to this university and all its athletic teams. He will be greatly missed by all of us. Mary and I extend our deepest sympathy to all the Munson family.”

Munson began his broadcast career in the mid-1940s, and during his career broadcast games for the University of Wyoming, Vanderbilt University, the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves as part of the team’s first broadcast team after relocating to Atlanta from Milwaukee. But, it was his work for the Bulldogs — and his memorable calls — that added him to the history books.

“For the citizens of the Bulldog Nation, Larry Munson’s voice provided the gravelly, dramatic soundtrack to their favorite movie, ‘Saturday in Athens,'” Georgia Gov. Natan Deal said in a statement. “For more than 40 years, Munson gave listeners so much more than a retelling of the events playing out on the field; he connected with fans through a shared passion for the University of Georgia. His words captured the emotional highs and lows of his fellow Bulldog fans. As Georgians join me in mourning his passing from this life to the next, Larry Munson lives on in immortality through highlight reels and the memories of the UGA faithful.”

It was Munson’s enthusiastic calls that endeared him to decades of fans. Of Herschel Walker, Munson once proclaimed, “My God Almighty, he ran right through two men.”

But, it was a call on Oct. 6, 2001, for which Munson may be most remembered. In Georgia’s 26-24 win over Tennessee, Munson proclaimed, “We just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose. We just crushed their face.”